Kapitan Telukabessy Sentenced To Hanging VOC In History Today, September 3, 1646

Victorian Fort Gate, which is the headquarters of the Dutch trading airline, the VOC in Ambon, Maluku. (Wikimedia Commons)

JAKARTA History today, 377 years ago, September 3, 1646, the Dutch trading airline, the VOC sentenced Fighters from Ambon, Maluku, Kapitan Ahmad Leikawa (Kapitan Telukabessy). The punishment was given because Telukabessy was able to advance the whole Islamic Kingdom of Tanah Hitu against Kompeni.

Previously, the Company was known to have special privileges in its mission to control the spice trade in the archipelago. The Company has its own war fleet. This power made the Company often choose the path of war to seize the region.

The spice trade was once a business that promised abundant profits. Narratives control the spice like mastering the world. This fact makes the Company attracted. They want to control spices in the archipelago.

All because Nusantara is known as a quality spice-producing country. From nutmeg to pepper. The Company initially acted as a polite trader. He perpetuates a lot of cooperation with local authorities.

The Company also realized that their intention to control the spice trade was unsuccessful if they continued to survive in a subtle way. The plan to conquer the archipelago region was perpetuated. The Company initially thought about building a colony.

Jayakarta was also chosen as the right location. The Company also played a embracing strategy. After that, just hit. They perpetuated the war over the ruler of Jayakarta. The Company made Jayakarta melt apart. Then, above the ruins of Jayakarta, the Company created a new city in 1619.

Batavia, his name. The Lust of the Company in control of other areas in the archipelago is getting brighter. They also want to control the spice trade in the Banda Islands. The Company was inevitable and then slaughtered the entire Banda Islands.

All because local residents prefer to trade spices for other nations. The Banda Islands were defeated in 1621. Most of the residents were killed. The rest who survived were made slaves to be sold in Batavia.

On March 11, 1621, the Banda Islands were filled with thick clouds of mourning. The entire population of Banda was killed by Jan Pieterszoon Coen who was very cruel and did not know the humanitarian period. The Banda Islands are completely empty without a population."

"As already said earlier, those who did not have time to run, if they did not die or are killed cruelly, were arrested and transported as prisoners of war or as slaves to Batavia. That is the resident of Batavia who originally came from Banda," said Sagimun MD in the book Jakarta from the Water Bank to the City of Proclamation (1988).

The conquest after conquest made the Company addicted. They want to conquer more areas. The Hitu kingdom in Ambon is the next target. However, the Company could not easily conquer the Kingdom of Hitu. This is because the Kingdom of Hitu had expelled the Portuguese colonialists before.

The Gelora of the Kingdom of Hitu's resistance was commanded by Kapitan Telukabessy. There are no two potentials in Telukabessy against the Netherlands. He doesn't worry that the Dutch are far from the number of troops. Because what Telukabessy understands is fighting.

The Telukabessy resistance then relaxed when the Company surrounded its headquarters on Mount Kapahaha and charming the people inside. It could be that Telukabessy was able to escape the siege.

However, the threat of the Company that wanted to kill its followers brought everything to life. Telukabessy finally surrendered. After that, he was sentenced to death in the courtyard of Victorian Fort because it was considered detrimental to the Company on September 3, 1646.

Finally, on July 27, 1646, the main fort on top of the top of the Kapahaha mountain, which is the headquarters of Telukabessy, was invaded by VOC forces. The fighting was quite fierce. Telukabessy's men fought desperately to defend this last fort. However, Telukabessy must recognize the superiority of the VOC weapons.

Many of his men died in this battle. Telukabessy himself escaped the raid. He had been wandering around Hitu for a long time waiting for a good time to attack the VOC again. However, because of many heinous acts committed by the VOC against the Hitu people, he finally gave up on August 19, 1646, to the VOC. On September 3, 1646, also after going through the court process he was sentenced to be hanged in the Victoria Fort courtyard. He died as a brave hero of Hitu, written in the book History of Resistance Against Imperialism and Colonialism in the Maluku Region (1983).